Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) is a nonprofit organization that specializes in solving metropolitan Ethernet technology problems. It aims to expedite Ethernet standardization, and uses the Ethernet technology as a switching technology and a transmission technology for constructing metropolitan area networks, solving the problems of the Ethernet, and meeting the requirements of operators for carrying out services, where the problems of the Ethernet are lacking carrier-class Operation Administration and Management (Operation Administration and Management (OAM)) capabilities, lacking end-to-end quality of service (Quality of Service (QoS)) assurance, and so on.
Currently, the MEF has finished phase 1 (Phase 1st) and phase 2 (Phase 2nd), and is now developing relevant standards of phase 3 (Phase 3rd). Phase 3 includes the content such as an external network and network interface (External Network and Network (E-NNI)), a virtual user network interface (Virtual User Network Interface (VUNI)), and a remote user network interface (Remote User Network Interface (RUNI)), and so on.
The network to network interface (Network to Network Interface (NNI)) specification is used to define the operation and administration interface between networks such as operator network and service provider network. Currently, the NNI specification is still under development, and is a focus of research in phase 3.
In the existing NNI specification developed by the MEF, for a service that is performed across a domain. Namely, when a service provider network is connected with a customer edge device through a third-party operator network, a method for managing the CE device automatically is not provided. For example, information such as configuration information or fault information is sent to the CE device.